Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is alive and well, his sister said, after she was finally allowed to visit him in prison on Tuesday.
Uzma Khan’s visit was the first time any member of Khan’s family had seen him in weeks, and the authorities have also barred him from meeting his legal team or political party officials – leading to mounting speculation about his well being.
Her remarks late on Tuesday after the visit to Adiala Jail appeared aimed at reassuring Khan's millions of supporters in Pakistan and abroad after concerns were raised over his health and whereabouts – and even whether he was still alive. Prison authorities had dismissed the rumours about his condition as baseless.
“Imran Khan’s health is perfectly fine. However, he said that they are subjecting him to mental torture, and that Asim Munir is responsible for all of this,” she said.
Field Marshal Asim Munir is the chief of Pakistan’s army, and considered to be the most powerful figure in the country. He recently secured expanded powers and lifelong legal immunity after parliament passed a constitutional amendment, which also limits the independence of the Supreme Court.
Khan, 73, has been serving multiple prison terms since 2023 on convictions for corruption and other charges that the former cricket star and his supporters have alleged are aimed at blocking his political career. His wife, Bushra Bibi, also has been convicted of graft and is serving time in the same prison, but they are not allowed to see each other except when they appear in court, his supporters have said.
Speaking to reporters in the city of Rawalpindi where he is imprisoned, Uzma Khan said she found her brother “perfectly in good health” but furious over largely solitary conditions in the prison.
After nearly one month, Imran Khan’s sister was finally allowed to meet him today. “Imran Khan’s health is perfectly fine. However, he said that they are subjecting him to mental torture, and that Asim Munir is responsible for all of this.” Dr. Uzma.#FreeImranKhan pic.twitter.com/YbFvlQIPjS
— PTI USA Official (@PTIOfficialUSA) December 2, 2025
“When I met with him, he was very angry,” she said, quoting him as saying that the “mental torture" of his solitary conditions is "worse than physical abuse”.
Supporters of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party had gathered outside the Adiala prison since early on Tuesday, anxious to hear news about Khan, who had received no visits since 4 November. They waited until his sister emerged from the facility to make her brief statement.
Authorities deployed hundreds of officers around the prison and issued a ban on rallies there and in Islamabad.
Khan’s spokesperson Zulfiquar Bukhari said only one sister was allowed a brief meeting. He said Khan's family and legal team should be allowed regular meetings, and denounced restrictions on access to Khan as “mental torture.”
Thanking the international media, he wrote: “When our own local media has been clamped down and silenced, it was their compassion and unwavering reporting that finally pushed this unelected setup to allow Imran Khan’s sister to meet him.
“Although he is legally entitled to frequent visits by multiple family members and others. Today proves that when we raise our voices together, change becomes possible.”
Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and his party is in opposition in the parliament. Khan and his party often allege that its mandate was stolen in the 2024 parliamentary elections, which they say were rigged in favor of the current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a charge the government denies.
Khan has been convicted of several charges ranging from corruption to revealing state secrets, and is serving multiple prison terms concurrently, meaning he serves only the longest term.
Additional reporting by agencies
